We must always remember, all of us, families, friends and physicians alike, the possibility of opioid use disorder (OUD) in anyone on chronic opioid therapy (COT) and those who are prescribed any drugs of abuse such as Ketamine, Adderall and benzodiazepines such as Valium, Ativan, Xanax. None of us should be taking medications that interfere with our ability to think and function. None of us should be taking more than we need. Many of us do not realize that less is more.

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Details of many tools for risk assessment are reviewed previously here.

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Keep this in mind:

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“Assessing risk of abuse and OUD in patients receiving COT is a dynamic, ongoing process.

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Diagnosing misuse, abuse and OUD in patients with pain is complex

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Current screening tools do not diagnose abuse or OUD but only misuse and not intent”